Yes. You can keep the Storyworth book going and use Told Together for the stories that only come out in conversation.

We already bought Storyworth and my parent stopped answering. What now?

Take one of the unanswered questions, call them, and ask it out loud. Record the call. That is a Told Together story.

Does Told Together make a book?

Not today. Each story prints cleanly or saves as a PDF, with a QR code to the recording if you shared it.

Does my parent need an account or an app?

No. For a recorded call they get a link by email and open it in a browser. For anything else they just talk.

A Storyworth alternative for parents who will not write

Storyworth asks your parent a question every week for a year, and your parent answers. Told Together asks nothing of your parent except a conversation with you. You call or sit down together, you ask the questions, and we turn the recording into a written story in their own words.

While Storyworth can feel like homework, Told Together is an opportunity to connect.

By Jamay Lau, founder of Told Together · Updated October 2026

At a glance

The Storyworth details below come from Storyworth’s own website, checked in October 2026.

Told Together and Storyworth compared
	Told Together	Storyworth
Price	Told Together$39.99 a year, or $4.99 a week with a 7-day free trial	StoryworthFrom $99 for one year. Three plans: Basic, Color, Unlimited
How stories are gathered	Told TogetherYou record a conversation: a call, in person, or a recording you already have	StoryworthOne question a week, by email or text, for a year
Questions and prompts	Told TogetherA library of questions by topic, and follow-up suggestions after each story. You ask them when you talk	StoryworthOne question a week, sent to your parent by email or text
Who does the work	Told TogetherYou ask. They talk. We write.	StoryworthYour parent writes an answer each week, or records one by phone on the Color and Unlimited plans
Time to a first story	Told TogetherA few minutes after your first conversation	StoryworthAfter the first weekly answer. The book arrives at the end of the year
What you read	Told TogetherA written story composed from the conversation, in their words	StoryworthTheir answer as written or transcribed. Magic Interviews produce a narrative story on the plans that include voice
Talking together	Told TogetherEvery story starts as a conversation between two people	StoryworthFamily Calls, on Color and Unlimited plans. Storyworth phones both people and adds a cleaned up transcript to the book
Languages	Told TogetherTalk in most major languages. The story is written in English	StoryworthNot stated on the pages we read
The recording	Told TogetherSaved with every story. You choose whether to share it	StoryworthVoice recordings are linked from the book by QR code
Printed book	Told TogetherNot included. Print any story or save it as a PDF	StoryworthHardcover included: 6 by 9 inches, up to 300 pages
Renewal	Told TogetherRenews until you cancel	StoryworthCan be bought as a one-time gift with no renewal

Storyworth is a trademark of its owner. Told Together is not affiliated with Storyworth. Details were taken from storyworth.com in October 2026 and may have changed.

The real difference is who has to do something

Storyworth is a writing project for your parent. For a parent who likes to write, that is a gift. Many parents do not. The weekly email arrives, they mean to answer, and the year goes by.

Told Together starts from something most families already do. You already call your mom. You already sit with your dad after dinner. Record that conversation, ask one good question, and let them talk. There is nothing for them to learn, write, or remember to do. You still get the questions. We suggest them, you pick the ones that fit your parent, and you ask them yourself.

A story the same day

With Told Together the first story is usually ready a few minutes after you hang up. You can read it together on the same call, fix a name, and send it to your sister that evening. You do not wait a year to find out whether it worked.

What the writing is like

It’s not just a transcript. We write the conversation up as a story in the first person, in the order that makes sense, with the false starts and the “can you hear me” removed. We keep their words and their way of saying things. We do not add a moral, a theme, or anything they did not say.

About Storyworth's Family Calls

Storyworth has a feature in the same spirit, and it deserves a fair description. On the Color and Unlimited plans, Storyworth can phone your parent and another family member, record the call, and add a cleaned up transcript of it to the book. If you are already a Storyworth customer on one of those plans, it is worth using.

The difference is what comes out. A Family Call becomes a transcript. A Told Together conversation becomes a written story, and it can start from any recording: a call we set up, your phone on the table at lunch, or a file you made years ago.

Choose Storyworth if

Your parent enjoys writing and will answer a question every week.
You want a hardcover book included in the price.
You want a gift that asks nothing of you after you buy it.
You want a one-time purchase that does not renew.

Choose Told Together if

Your parent will not write, or a Storyworth subscription went unanswered.
You already talk regularly and want those conversations kept.
You want a finished story this week, not a book next year.
Your parent is most themselves in a language other than English.
You want to be part of it, asking the questions and hearing the answers.